Bell Financial Transparency

BELL, Calif. (AP) — A working class suburb of Los Angeles crippled by a corruption scandal is putting information online Tuesday that will better inform the public where their money is being spent.

The city of Bell is joining more than two dozen cities in California that uses a program that converts and organizes financial data, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Bell's city manager believes the program will help taxpayers learn more about local government.

Bell was rocked by a scandal three years ago when some civic leaders were accused of drawing huge salaries and collecting generous benefits.

Five former council members were convicted last March of fraud charges. Ex-City Manager Robert Rizzo recently pleaded no contest to 69 counts and will likely be sentenced to no more than 10 to 12 years in prison. The city's former Assistant City Manager Angel Spaccia is currently on trial.

Local municipalities can send their financial data to OpenGov Inc., which uploads it into their system for city and public use. The information is put into charts designed to help people understand the information more easily.

Bell retooled its website earlier this year and published various city documents. Council meetings are now streamed live online.

Councilman Ali Saleh said he hopes the new resource will reinforce public trust in government.

"This is really something all cities should be doing in order to cut through the political spin and allow the public and electorate to focus on the issues and business of governance in an informed and substantial manner," Saleh said.